Luxury hotel with licence to thrill

Justin Connolly and his son visit London secret agent style as James Bong's latest adventure Sky Fall hits the big screen.

The envelope was pushed through the letterbox and dropped to the floor behind the door. It was stamped ‘TOP SECRET’ and the return address was ‘Universal Exports’.

But it wasn’t addressed to me, it was for my son. His name? Connolly. Finn Connolly. Aged 11, licensed to chill.

He’d been invited south on an undercover mission to find the truth about St Ermin’s Hotel in London, apparently a regular haunt of secret agents.

And it turns out the truth is quite simple – the St Ermin’s is a beautiful hotel, perfectly located, with attentive staff that don’t overpower you, and a splendid restaurant that offers wonderfully unfussy food and service.

We visited St Ermin’s for a weekend to sample its Spy Kids package. Finn was given a checklist of things to watch out for in the surrounding area.

When he’d ticked everything off he was rewarded with a St Ermin’s special agent card that he exchanged at the hotel’s famous Caxton Bar for a non-alcoholic cocktail, which is, of course, shaken, not stirred.

It’s a nice way to keep the kids interested, but also exposes the hotel’s genuine links with the world of espionage.

St Ermin’s is opposite the Metropolitan Police headquarters at New Scotland Yard, just behind St James’s Park tube station – not far from Whitehall, and just to the north of Parliament Square. A short walk away is Buckingham Palace.

Its ideal and discreet position make it a perfect meeting place for those who may be on sensitive missions, and during the Thirties the building was used extensively by the Secret Intelligence Service (now known as MI6).

Notorious double-agents Kim Philby and Guy Burgess worked out of the building, and James Bond author Ian Fleming was a regular visitor to the hotel’s Caxton Bar when he worked as a navel intelligence officer nearby.

In 1940 Winston Churchill organised the meeting at the hotel that led to the formation of the Special Operations Executive – a large yet secretive unit that conducted espionage, reconnaissance and support missions all over Europe during the Second World War.

The SOE was actually based in the hotel for a short time.

It’s easy to imagine that world when you first arrive at the hotel – its beautiful gardens and stunning lobby evoke a bygone age of style, glamour and breathless adventure.

James Bond himself – a man of clearly impeccable taste – would not look out of place strolling across the lobby, straightening his cuffs.

The place is effortlessly cool and wonderfully out-of-the-way – perfect, I imagine, as a location for stealthily handing over that stolen dossier to a Russian agent. Those days have, of course, gone. And even if they hadn’t, I am certain you’d see or hear nothing about it here. They do things well, but quietly.

These days St Ermin’s is just a fabulous base for a visit to the capital, and a wonderful place to stay in its own right.

The lobby alone is worth visiting for – it was, like the rest of the hotel, beautifully restored just last year. Designed by architect J.P. Briggs, who was known mostly for designing theatres, it features his trademark curving staircases, balconies, open fireplaces and roccoco plasterwork.

The rooms are spacious and classy, and somehow, like the whole hotel, they manage to be understated and a touch quirky at the same time.

The Caxton Grill restaurant does not let the rest of the hotel down, either.

Head chef Hus Vedat oversees matters, and offers top-quality, all-day dining featuring dishes based around a rare Josper charcoal grill, which produces a flavour like no other – smokey and intense.

The menu is full of tasty grilled meats and fish in a style that could only be described as European. Vedat has travelled extensively and brings a range of influences to the cooking here, always with an eye for the seasonal and locally-sourced.

In fact, one ingredient that could not be more local is the honey that often finds its way onto the Caxton’s menu. The hotel rooftop is host to a colony of 75,000 Buckfast bees, which produced their first honey just last summer.

Now the honey is collected regularly and features in a number of specially-created dishes at the restaurant. It’s a great example of how this hotel offers something just a little bit different.

If you stay at the hotel you have to eat at the Caxton, and even if you don’t, you should still consider it as a dining option. It’s a unique spot well worth seeking out specially.

Of course, you may just want to leave the hotel for a mooch around the city – and it would be hard to find a handier spot from which to do that than this ideally positioned hotel.

With a tube stop literally round the corner, and all that Westminster has to offer a short stroll away, you will see much and not have too far to travel to get back to St Ermin’s.

And you won’t want to be away from it for too long.

Factfile

Rooms at St Ermin’s start at £199 + VAT (not inc breakfast) for a double. Every child staying at the hotel is offered the Spy Kids pack, including a free cocktail. Visit sterminshotel. co.uk for more, and see caxtongrill. co.uk for more information on the Caxton Grill and to book a table. Virgin Trains runs a regular and rapid daily service from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston. See virgintrains.co.uk or call 08719 774 222 to book.

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